Arsenal Plot £10m Deal For Celtic Defender Virgil van Dijk

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Arsenal are desperately in need of a new central defender and Arsene Wenger has put Celtic’s Virgil van Dijk on top of his wish list.

Arsenal are struggling badly with their defence this season as Per Mertesacker has performed extremely poorly while Laurient Koscielny continues to struggle with his injuries.

These defensive woes have forced Arsene Wenger to look elsewhere in the transfer market and Deltic’s Dutch centre-back Virgil van Dijk has become the priority target for the Frenchman.

Virgil van Dijk, 23, has become a key member of Celtic’s squad this season and his impressive displays for the Scottish Premier League side have also caught the attention of host of EPL sides, including Arsenal. Virgil van Dijk was part of the Celtic defence that went 1,215 minutes without conceding a goal, creating a new record in Scottish Premier League and Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger is a big admirer of this young Dutchman.

Meanwhile, reports coming from England have also confirmed the interest of Arsenal in Virgil van Dijk. The Sun has claimed in its report that Arsenal desperately need a new centre-back and they need to get a deal done quickly and cleanly at the start of January. This could be the right deal, with Celtic unlikely to resist any huge bids for their players.

Arsenal are currently lying in the 6th spot in Barclays Premier League, 15 points behind leaders Chelsea, and Arsene Wenger is desperate to get the campaign of Gunners back on track.

Arsene Wenger has already said that qualifying for the Champions League is the minimum requirement at Arsenal and he is certain to spend some money in January to sign some additions.

However, Arsenal will have to spend big if they want to succeed in the signature of Virgil van Dijk. The management of Celtic does not want to part ways with their prized asset in the middle of the season but an offer in the region of 9-11 million pounds would be enough to get Virgil van Dijk. And it appears that Arsenal are ready to spend this much amount to get their man.

Meanwhile, Virgil van Dijk is not the only central defender who has caught the attention of Arsene Wenger and Arsenal. Arsene Wenger is also keeping a tab on the progress of Vlaar of Aston Villa and Mats Hummels of Borussia Dortmund.